Fish consumption highest in Malaysia

This statistic, according to fishery products expert Infofish, was way above the world average of below 20kg per capita and even slightly ahead of Japan.

It said the major species consumed in Malaysia included mackerel, shrimp, squid, tilapia and catfish.

Infofish yesterday released Malaysia’s first comprehensive “Fish Supply-Demand Study”, which also found that Malaysians were increasingly buying imported and more expensive “high-value fishery products” such as cod, salmon, mussels, oysters and abalone, pushing up the price of Malaysia’s fish imports.

On average, Malaysian households spend about 100 ringgit (about Bt1,000) a month to buy a variety of fish for home preparation, with mackerel, squid and shrimp the most popular varieties.

Malaysians also consumed more fish than any other meat such as beef or chicken, it said.

“A high percentage, 37 per cent of consumers in Malaysia also eat fish and seafood on a daily basis and the majority, 54 per cent eat fish once to three times a week,” it said.

According to the survey, 56 per cent of consumers prefer to buy fish from traditional wet markets, citing higher quality and lower price as the top two reasons.

Almost half the respondents said they spent an average of 20 to 50 ringgit on fish during every shopping trip, while 23 per cent said they spent less than 25 ringgit.

“For Chinese consumers, salmon is the most preferred species, followed by grouper.

“Among the freshwater species, freshwater prawn is the most preferred among Malay consumers while tilapia is popular among Chinese and Indian consumers,” it said.

However, the demand for fish in Malaysia, according to the survey, is expected to be almost stagnant or grow at a slower pace in the future, in line with population growth.

According to the statistics department, the price of fish has risen by an average of 6.2 per cent each year since 2005.

Infofish Trade Promotion Unit chief Fatima Ferdouse said increasing costs related to fishing operations were among the major factors behind the increasing price of fish.